THUNDER BAY – City council approved another item on a controversial list of proposed service cuts, while two other potential service reductions were taken off the table, at least for now.
Councillors also tweaked a proposed strategic plan, approved transit fare collection changes, and gave a green light for a new stage of the Parkdale subdivision in a Monday meeting.
Proposed transit, arena cuts withdrawn
Proposals to cut an arena and two city bus routes in 2024 have been taken off the table.
Memos advising council against carrying out the cuts, which were proposed by administration in June, were accepted with little discussion at Monday’s meeting.
Public opposition and the timing of the city’s winter ice allocation process were among the reasons for the reversal.
With those cuts off the table, council will need to find nearly half a million dollars in spending reductions elsewhere to meet its goal of achieving $1.5 million in service cuts in the 2024 budget.
Thunder Bay ends sister cities program
City council voted to end Thunder Bay’s sister cities program, first launched in 1974 when the city inked a twinning agreement with Seinäjoki, Finland.
Cutting the $25,000 program will barely advance council’s goal of finding $1.5 million in yearly service cuts, though the sister cities committee had long been identified as a potential "low-impact" cost-saving step.
The committee’s chair called the move to sever decades-long relationships with cities around the world a “bad look” for Thunder Bay.
Council tweaks strategic plan, adding focus on economy and housing
In a sometimes contentious discussion lasting well over two hours, council insisted on changes to a draft strategic plan before approving it Monday.
While several councillors were ready to pass the document as presented to the public last week, a number of others said it put too little emphasis on economic development and housing.
Council settled on adding a new “strategic pillar” to the document centred around growth, which will include metrics like new housing starts.
That will join existing strategic pillars centred around truth and reconciliation, safety and well-being, and sustainability.
Parkdale subdivision Stage 7 approved
Council approved a seventh stage of development for the Parkdale subdivision on Monday.
The newly-approved stage includes 56 lots along Bruin Crescent, just north of existing Parkdale development to the north of Arthur Street.
Uses for those lots could range from single detached to four-unit apartment homes, city staff reported, but could not yet provide a total number of units to be developed.
The company building the subdivision, Di Gregorio Developments, is looking to begin construction in late summer or early fall, the city said.
A previous stage of the subdivision was approved in 2016.
Transit transition to tap
Riders on Thunder Bay Transit will soon be able to board with the tap of a cell phone or smart card.
Council approved a roughly $2 million contract for a new electronic fare management system on Monday, though nearly all of that will be covered through federal-provincial funding.
The city says the change will bring several benefits including convenience for users when it launches next year, including new possibilities for discount incentives, and more efficient boarding.
City won’t pursue power generation at Boulevard Dam
A staff report indicated generating power at the Boulevard Lake Dam — something that’s been done in the past and council voted to examine in 2021 — would not be feasible.
Staff estimated a small hydroelectric operation at the dam could generate an estimated $135,000 a year in revenue.
However, they found that would not be enough to justify relaunching operations, stating the facility is in need of costly and “extensive capital renewal,” and also flagging environmental concerns over the flow of water and impacts to the nearby fish ladder.
